1981 Academy Awards® Winners and History Reds (1981) Actor: HENRY FONDA in "On Golden Pond", Warren Beatty in "Reds", Burt Lancaster in "Atlantic City", Dudley Moore in "Arthur", Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice" Actress: KATHARINE HEPBURN in "On Golden Pond", Diane Keaton in "Reds", Marsha Mason in "Only When I Laugh", Susan Sarandon in "Atlantic City", Meryl Streep in "The French Lieutenant's Woman" Supporting Actor: JOHN GIELGUD in "Arthur", James Coco in "Only When I Laugh", Ian Holm in "Chariots of Fire", Jack Nicholson in "Reds", Howard E. Rollins, Jr.

in "Ragtime" Supporting Actress: MAUREEN STAPLETON in "Reds", Melinda Dillon in "Absence of Malice", Jane Fonda in "On Golden Pond", Joan Hackett in "Only When I Laugh", Elizabeth McGovern in "Ragtime" Director: WARREN BEATTY for "Reds", Hugh Hudson for "Chariots of Fire", Louis Malle for "Atlantic City", Mark Rydell for "On Golden Pond", Steven Spielberg for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" The Best Picture winner this year was a surprise and major upset win for British producer David Puttnam's low-budget Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, with seven nominations and four wins. It also took top honors for Best Screenplay (Colin Welland), Best Original Score (Vangelis' rich electronic, throbbing score, especially during the iconic opening credits sequence) and Best Costume Design. The win signaled the start of another mini-British renaissance of film awards for this year and the next - with Gandhi (1982) soon breaking all British film Oscar records. (It had been 13 years since another British-made film had won Best Picture, Oliver!

(1968)) Chariots of Fire was also the second sports film to win Best Picture (the first was Rocky (1976) ). It also marked the first of four biopics to win the top award during the 80s, joining Gandhi (1982), Amadeus (1984), and The Last Emperor (1987). Of the top five competitors for Best Picture, two were historical epics, two were about senior-citizens, and one was a throwback to the action/adventure films of the past: Chariots of Fire was the inspirational story of the 1924 Olympics running event in Paris and the motivations of two of Britain's runners, Cambridge University students - English Jew Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Scottish Christian missionary Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson).

The film, which contained an anti-Semitism subplot, soon became the most-successful foreign film in US box-office history Warren Beatty's $35 million, three-hour long American epic masterpiece and front-runner in the competition, Reds (with twelve nominations and three wins) including Best Director (Warren Beatty), Best Supporting Actress (Maureen Stapleton), and Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro, the winner of the same award for Apocalypse Now (1979) .) Reds was the film biography of American communist and romantic figure John Reed, a left-wing radical journalist and author of Ten Days That Shook the World, who journeyed from Oregon to Greenwich Village and then to Russia to cover first-hand the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution on the streets of Petrograd [Beatty received simultaneous nominations as producer, director, co-writer (with English dramatist Trevor Griffiths), and star actor for the film. Only one other director, Orson Welles, had accomplished such a feat (for Citizen Kane (1941) ).

Beatty was repeating his acquisition of quadruple nominations - his earlier film Heaven Can Wait (1978) had earned him the same distinction.] director Mark Rydell's favored, all-star family drama On Golden Pond (with ten nominations and three wins), a screen adaptation of Ernest Thompson's play about the members of the Thayer family who conflict and reconcile with each other during one summer at a lakeside New England cabin The other Best Picture nominees were: director Louis Malle's long-shot Atlantic City (with five nominations and no wins), the dual stories of an aging, small-time hood and a struggling oyster-bar waitress in the casino town director Steven Spielberg's (and George Lucas' written and produced) block-busting, entertaining genre film Raiders of the Lost Ark (with nine nominations and five wins, mostly technical awards), an old-style action/adventure film about the heroic exploits of archaeologist Indiana Jones searching for the Ark of the Covenant against the Nazis All five of the directors of Best Picture nominees were likewise nominated in the Best Director category - the third instance in Oscar history.

[It also happened in 1957 and 1964 and would not occur again for another 24 years, in 2005.] Warren Beatty won the award as Best Director for Reds. [He was one of the few actors/stars that was also an Oscar-winning director (but without winning an acting Oscar), along with Robert Redford for Ordinary People (1980) the previous year, Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves (1990) and Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).] Reds had nominations of its actors in all four categories, but only one of the four performers won - Best Supporting Actress.

All four of the acting awards winners were elderly, aging actors - the oldest collection of acting winners ever assembled, averaging 70.75 years old: 76 year old Henry Fonda (Best Actor for On Golden Pond) 74 year old Katharine Hepburn (Best Actress for On Golden Pond) 77 year old Sir John Gielgud (Best Supporting Actor for Arthur) 56 year old Maureen Stapleton (Best Supporting Actress for Reds) Other elderly nominees joined the acting winners: 68 year old Burt Lancaster (Best Actor nominee for Atlantic City) 57 year old Paul Newman (Best Actor nominee for Absence of Malice) 50 year old Ian Holm (Best Supporting Actor nominee for Chariots of Fire) The sentimental favorites and actual winners for Best Actor and Best Actress were legendary actors, both co-starring in the same film, On Golden Pond. This was only the fifth film in Oscar history to have Oscars wins for Best Actor and Actress in the same film (it also occurred in 1934, 1975, 1976, and 1978).

This was the only time that Henry Fonda was teamed with his real-life daughter Jane, and the only time he starred with veteran actress Katharine Hepburn: Henry Fonda as the gutsy, nearly-80 year-old Norman Thayer, a former college professor who is facing senility, but enjoys sharing life on the lake with the young son of his daughter's boyfriend in On Golden Pond. Henry Fonda's Best Actor award for the film was his first Oscar. It was undoubtedly a 'career' Oscar win - a tribute to his long, distinguished career of film-making. [At 76 years of age, Fonda was the oldest nominee and winner in the Best Actor category in Academy history.] Fonda had been nominated for Best Actor only once before - forty one years earlier for The Grapes of Wrath (1940) , but had lost the award. The gap of time between acting nominations was a record in itself. (Fonda's daughter and co-star Jane accepted her father's Oscar, because he was too ill to attend. He died about four months later.

His win made it the first time that a father-daughter team were Oscar-winners: Henry Fonda (for On Golden Pond (1981)) and Jane Fonda (for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)). The second father-daughter Oscar winners occurred in 1999 - for Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie.) Katharine Hepburn as his wise and quietly-strong wife Ethel who urges her crusty husband to reconcile with his daughter (Jane Fonda) in On Golden Pond. The couple portrayed bickering but devoted protagonists. [At 74 years of age, Hepburn became the oldest Best Actress winner up to that time - she was surpassed 8 years later by 80 year old Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Hepburn also set a record with her fourth (and final) Oscar - she became the first performer to win that many Best Actress awards with a record of twelve nominations.

The four remaining Best Actor nominees included the following: Warren Beatty (with his third Best Actor nomination) for his role in Reds as radical American communist and journalist John Reed, who faced increasing resistance to the spread of Communism in isolationist 1920s US, witnessed the Russian Revolution and then wrote the book, Ten Days That Shook the World Burt Lancaster (with his fourth and last career nomination) as small-time hood Lou in Atlantic City Paul Newman (with his fifth career nomination) as Michael Gallagher, the innocent victim of an unscrupulous Miami newspaper columnist's report in Sydney Pollack's examination of the ethics of journalism, Absence of Malice (with three nominations and no wins) Dudley Moore (with his sole Oscar nomination in his career) as the drunk, spoiled, amiable and millionaire-rich playboy and title character Arthur Bach in Arthur (with four nominations and two wins) The four remaining Best Actress nominees included: Diane Keaton (with her second of four Best Actress career nominations) as Louise Bryant, Reed's lover (and then wife) and fellow radical in Reds Marsha Mason (with the last of her four unsuccessful nominations) as the brilliant, self-destructive, divorced alcoholic Broadway actress Georgia in Neil Simon's adaptation of

 his own play (The Gingerbread Lady) in the film Only When I Laugh (with three nominations and no wins) Meryl Streep (with her third nomination and first Best Actress nomination, and her first of three consecutive nominations in the early 80s) as the enigmatic heroine Sarah Woodruff/Anna of the title in two parallel stories in the complex film adaptation of John Fowles' best-selling novel, director Karel Reisz' The French Lieutenant's Woman (with five nominations and no wins) Susan Sarandon (with her first nomination) as aspiring casino croupier Sally who becomes involved in a drug deal and who sexily rubs lemon juice on her breasts to remove the smell of fish in Atlantic City [Coincidentally, Streep lost the Best Actress bid to Hepburn when she won her final Oscar with her 12th nomination.

Eighteen years later in 1999, Streep would tie Hepburn with her 12th nomination, and in 2002, Streep would surpass Hepburn with her 13th nomination, and then in 2006 garner her 14th nomination.] Classical actor Sir John Gielgud won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role (not in Chariots of Fire as Master of Trinity) as drunken Arthur's kindly, no-nonsense, sarcastic, deadpan butler/valet Hobson in the comedy Arthur. [His only other Oscar nomination was in his role as King Louis VII in Becket (1964).] The four other Best Supporting Actor nominees included: James Coco (with his first and only career nomination) as an unemployed gay actor in Only When I Laugh Ian Holm (with his first and only career nomination) as Liddell's trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire Jack Nicholson (with his sixth career nomination and second Best Supporting Actor nomination) as Eugene O'Neill in Reds Howard E. Rollins, Jr. (with his first and only career nomination) as the black ragtime piano player Coalhouse Walker, Jr.

in Ragtime Maureen Stapleton won the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of earthy, disillusioned, and despairing revolutionary-anarchist Emma Goldman in Reds. This was her fourth and final career nomination and only successful one - she had been nominated three times previously for Best Supporting Actress in 1958 (for Lonelyhearts (1958)), 1970 (for Airport (1970)), and in 1978 (for Interiors (1978)). All of her nominations were for films with one word titles! The other Best Supporting Actress nominees included: Melinda Dillon (with her second and last Best Supporting Actress nomination) as tragically-suicidal Teresa in Absence of Malice Jane Fonda (with her sixth of seven career nominations, and her sole supporting nomination) as Henry Fonda's screen daughter Chelsea Thayer in On Golden Pond [the only time that Jane and Henry acted together] Joan Hackett (with her first and only career nomination) as a socialite in Only When I Laugh Elizabeth McGovern (with her first and only career nomination) as millionaire Harry K.

Thaw's sexy showgirl wife (and Stanford White's mistress) Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime Four-time Best Actress Oscar-defeated Barbara Stanwyck (in 1937, 1941, 1944 and 1948) accepted an Honorary statuette from the Academy, "for superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting." Oscar Snubs and Omissions: Director John Boorman's visionary version of the King Arthur tales - Excalibur, received only one unsuccessful nomination for Best Cinematography. The four nominations for The Rose, featuring Bette Midler's remarkable performance, went unhonored. The endlessly fascinating dinner conversation film, Louis Malle's My Dinner With Andre was completely omitted from honors. There were no special recognitions or nominations for the imaginative Visual Effects in the mythological fantasy Clash of the Titans, the last film from legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. Ragtime was awarded eight nominations (with no wins) without a Best Picture nomination. And Gallipoli went completely unnominated, including omissions for Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Weir), Best Actor (Mel Gibson), and Best Supporting Actor (Bill Hunter).

Director Blake Edwards' semi-autobiographical comedy S.O.B., a satire on the film industry which featured his squeaky-clean wife Julie Andrews exposing her breasts, was devoid of nominations, as was the crime drama True Confessions, starring Robert Duvall and Robert DeNiro as two brothers brought together as a result of a brutal murder in late 1940s Los Angeles.

Many acting nominations were denied to a number of proven actors and actresses in 1981: the previous year's Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek was neglected for her performance as WWII Texas switchboard operator and divorced mother Nita Longley in Raggedy Man (with no nominations) Faye Dunaway was bypassed for her role as abusive mother and actress Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (with no nominations) Candice Bergen was denied a nomination for Rich and Famous (with no nominations) Sally Field was ignored for her performance in Absence of Malice (with three unsuccessful nominations) both Carol Burnett (in a serious role) and Bess Armstrong were un-nominated for their lead and supporting roles in director/actor/writer Alan Alda's marriage drama The Four Seasons (with no nominations) Other un-nominated stars/directors included: director/star/co-writer Albert Brooks for his role as love-torn Robert Cole in the realistic romantic comedy Modern Romance Harrison Ford - for his defining performance as courageous, indomitable hero Indiana Jones, and Karen Allen - for her liberated role as sidekick Marion Ravenwood in Steven Spielberg's action/adventure tribute Raiders of the Lost Ark John Heard for his anti-hero role as crippled, angry Vietnam veteran Alexander

 Cutter in Czech director Ivan Passer's ignored Cutter's Way (with no nominations) Steve Martin (in his first dramatic role) as Arthur Parker - a Chicago Depression-era traveling sheet-music/song salesman, and Christopher Walken in a short role as slick pimp Tom who performed a seductive, almost-lewd striptease/tap-dance ("Let's Misbehave") on top of a bar in a sleazy joint to entice shy schoolteacher Eileen (Bernadette Peters), in director Herbert Ross' eccentric, downbeat musical Pennies From Heaven (with four unsuccessful nominations) Donald Sutherland as a deadly Nazi agent in Eye of the Needle Treat Williams as corrupt NY narcotics cop Daniel Ciello in director Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City William Hurt (as lowlife lawyer Ned Racine) and Kathleen Turner in her film debut (as conniving and sexy femme fatale Matty Walker) in Lawrence Kasdan's modern-day noir Body Heat (with no nominations) John Belushi (in his last film appearance) as a burly newspaperman who falls in love with mountain woman Blair Brown in Michael Apted's romantic comedy Continental Divide (with no nominations - and another un-nominated Kasdan screenplay) John Gielgud - Awards

 - IMDb John Gielgud Showing all 16 wins and 26 nominations Academy Awards, USA Arthur (1981) John Gielgud was not present at the award's ceremony.

Presenters Carol Burnett and Joel Grey ... More John Gielgud was not present at the award's ceremony. Presenters Carol Burnett and Joel Grey accepted the award on his behalf. John Gielgud Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards | TVGuide.com Fast Facts Of Lithuanian-Polish heritage on his father's side; his paternal great-grandmother was famed Lithuanian actress Anielia Aszpergerowa. Descended from the distinguished Terry family of thespians, most notably Ellen Alice Terry (great aunt) and Kate Terry (grandmother), on his mother's side. His speaking voice was described by Alec Guinness as being "like a silver trumpet muffled in silk." Was knighted in 1953. Most famous for his appearances on the stage, especially in Shakespearean dramas; didn't become an international star until his role in 1981's Arthur. One of the few actors to win a Grammy, a Tony, an Oscar and an Emmy.

Awards 1989, Emmy — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special: Nominee 1989, Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television: Winner 1990, Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television: Nominee 1982, Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Winner 1985, Emmy — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special: Nominee 1982, Emmy — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special: Nominee 1991, Emmy — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special: Winner 1965, Tony — Actor (Dramatic): Nominee 1964, Oscar — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Nominee 1981, Oscar — Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Winner 1984, Emmy — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special: Nominee 1954, BAFTA Film Awards — Best British

 Actor: Winner 1971, Tony — Actor (Dramatic): Nominee 1963, Tony — Director (Dramatic): Nominee 1959, Tony — Special Award: Winner 1986, BAFTA Film Awards — Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Nominee 1982, BAFTA Film Awards — Best Supporting Artist: Nominee 1975, BAFTA Film Awards — Best Supporting Actor: Winner 1997, BAFTA Film Awards — Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Nominee 1996, Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: Nominee 1992, BAFTA Film Awards — Academy Fellowship: Winner 1979, Grammy — Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording: Winner 1961, Tony — Director (Dramatic): Winner Relationships John Gielgud - Biography - IMDb John Gielgud Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (3) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (40) | Personal Quotes (20) Overview (5) 5' 11" (1.81

 m) Mini Bio (3) Born in London, England, John Gielgud trained at Lady Benson's Acting School and RADA, London.

Best known for his Shakespearean roles in the theater, he first played Hamlet at the age of 26. He worked under the tutelage of Lilian Bayliss with friend and fellow performer Laurence Olivier and other contemporaries of the National Theatre at the "Old Vic", London. He made his screen debut in 1924. Academy Award Best Supporting Actor, 1981, for Arthur (1981), Academy Award Nomination, 1964, for Becket (1964). Sir John Gielgud is a highly distinguished and prolific performer who is considered to be one of the finest actors of his generation. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Gielgud played his first Hamlet in 1930 and quickly established himself as one of the most eminent Shakespearean interpreters of his time, as well as a respected director. He made his screen debut in 1924 in Who Is the Man?

(1924) and appeared in Alfred Hitchcock 's Secret Agent (1936) in 1936 as well as several Shakespearian adaptations such as Julius Caesar (1953) in 1953 and Olivier's Richard III (1955) in 1955. Since the late 1960s he has increasingly appeared in character roles. Other film credits include: Becket (1964) (for which he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of King Louis VII of France); The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) ; Oh!

What a Lovely War (1969); A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977); The Elephant Man (1980); Arthur (1981); Chariots of Fire (1981); Gandhi (1982); Scandalous (1984); The Shooting Party (1985); The Far Pavilions (1984); Plenty (1985); The Whistle Blower (1986); Barbablù, Barbablù (1987); Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988); Prospero's Books (1991); Shining Through (1992); The Best of Friends (1991); The Power of One (1992), and First Knight (1995) with Sean Connery and Richard Gere .

The more recent of his numerous television credits include the BBC's acclaimed series Brideshead Revisited (1981); Wagner; The Master of Ballantrae (1984); The Theban Plays by Sophocles: Theban Plays: Oedipus the King (1986); War and Remembrance (1988); Screen Two: Quartermaine's Terms (1987); A Man for All Seasons (1988); A TV Dante (1989); Scarlett (1994) ; and Alleyn Mysteries (1990) . Sir John also wrote three novels - Early Stages (in 1939), Stage Directions (in 1963) and Distinguished Company (1972).

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous Sir John Gielgud, arguably the greatest Shakespearean actor of the 20th Century, had a theatrical career that spanned 64 years, from a role in a 1924 London production of "The Constant Nymph" to the 1988 production of " Sir Sydney Cockerell: The Best of Friends," and an even-longer film career that lasted 77 years, from his appearance in the 1923 silent Who Is the Man? (1924) to Catastrophe (2000) in the year 2000. He played his first Hamlet in London in 1929, and was hailed by many as the Hamlet of his generation (and in hindsight, of the century). In 1965, his Shakespearean colloquy "The Ages of Man" won him a Tony on Broadway. The great actor, at his best in classical roles, even won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar uncharacteristically playing a butler in the comedy hit Arthur (1981).

He was born Arthur John Gielgud on April 14, 1904, in South Kensington, London, to Franciszek/Frank Henry Gielgud, a stockbroker, and his wife, Kate Terry-Lewis Gielgud. His father was of Polish ancestry, with distant Lithuanian roots, while his mother was English. His paternal great-grandmother, Aniela (Wasinskiej) Aszperger, had been a Shakespearean actress in Poland, and his maternal grandmother, Kate Terry, had played Cordelia at the age of 14. Also on his mother's side, his great-uncle Fred Terry became a stage star acting the role of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Fred's sister Ellen Terry , the great stage actress who made her fame as Henry Irving 's leading lady, was his great-aunt. (Gielgud's brother, Val Gielgud , became the head of BBC Radio in the 1950s). Arthur John Gielgud attended Hillside prep school, where he had his first stage experience as Shakespeare's Shylock and as Humpty Dumpty, before moving on to the Westminster school in London.

He often played hooky from school to attend performances of the Diaghilev Ballet. He was 17 years old when he made his debut as a professional actor at the Old Vic in 1921, playing a French herald in "Henry V." The next year, his cousin Phyllis Neilson-Terry hired him as an assistant stage manager and understudy for "The Wheel." While pursuing his stage career, he studied acting at Lady Benson's Dramatic Academy before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for a year. He appeared in his first motion picture in 1923 in the silent picture Who Is the Man? (1924). Gielgud's first major role on the London stage was as Trofimov in Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." In 1924, he understudied Noel Coward in "The Vortex" and "The Constant Nymph," parts he subsequently took over. During the run of "The Constant Nymph," Gielgud met the actor John Perry, who had a walk-on role in Avery Hopwood 's "The Golddiggers" starring Tallulah Bankhead .

Gielgud and Perry fell in love, and Perry abandoned his unpromising stage career to live with Gielgud in his flat in Covent Garden. Subsequently, Gielgud joined J. B. Fagan's company that played in Oxford and in the West End, as London's commercial theater district was called. In 1929, Lilian Baylis invited him to join the Old Vic, and he played all the major parts in repertory over the next two seasons, establishing his reputation as a great actor. It was in 1929-30 season that Gielgud first played the title role in William Shakespeare 's "Hamlet," which made theatrical history as it was the first time an English actor under 40 had played the part in the West End. Blessed with what Laurence Olivier called "The Voice that Wooed the World," Gielgud revolutionized the role with the speed of his delivery. Developing his interpretation of Hamlet in subsequent performance over the years, Gielgud would generally be accorded the greatest Hamlet of his generation and of the 20th Century, his facility with the part rivaled only on stage by John Barrymore .

But it was his 1929-30 Hamlet and his performance in the title role of Shakespeare's "Richard II," another role he made his own, that earned him the reputation as the premier Shakespearean actor in England. Inspired by Gielgud's performances, a woman wrote, under the pseudonym Gordon Daviot, the play "Richard of Bordeaux" specifically for him, and he starred in and directed the play. "Richard of Bordeaux" was a box-office smash and made him a celebrity. This huge financial success of the play meant that Gielgud could stage classics in the West End. An innovator, Gielgud pioneered the theater company system. He also encouraged a new generation of actors, including Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft , Edith Evans , Glen Byam Shaw , Anthony Quayle , George Devine , and Alec Guinness , who reportedly saw him in "Richard of Bordeaux" fifteen times. After World War II, Gielgud also proved a mentor to a young de-mobilized R.A.F. enlisted man, Richard Jenkins, who became a star overnight in Gielgud's production of "The Lady's Not for Burning" as Richard Burton .

The two remained friends for all of Burton's life, Gielgud directing Burton in his memorable 1964 New York production of "Hamlet." Gielgud was a notorious workaholic and single-mindedly focused on his craft. Beverley Nichols related how Gielgud returned from a village in late 1939, loaded down with newspapers and a worried look. Asked whether war had finally been declared with Germany, Gielgud replied: "'Oh, I don't know anything about that, but 'Gladys Cooper' has got the most terrible reviews." Represented by the theatrical agency H. M. Tennent, whose managing director was the famous Hugh 'Binkie' Beaumont, Gielgud lost the romantic affections of John Perry to Beaumont (they were a committed couple until Beaumont's death). During World War II, acting without Gielgud's knowledge, Beaumont obtained an exemption from military service for Gielgud, who expected to be called up, but had to content himself with being a London fire watch warden. In the post-war theater, Gielgud abandoned the romantic roles that made him a box-office star in favor of character work.

He was influenced in that direction by the 25-year-old Peter Brook , who directed him in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." (The other great Peter, Peter Hall , who founded the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later succeeded Laurence Olivier as director of the National Theatre, directed Gielgud as Prospero in "The Tempest" in 1973, the first production he directed for the NT on the South Bank.) He became Sir John Gielgud when he was awarded a knighthood in the Coronation Honours list of June 1953. By this time, he had begun a long-term relationship with Paul Anstee. On October 21, 1953, Gielgud was arrested in Chelsea for soliciting a homosexual act in a public lavatory. Arraigned the next morning, he pleaded guilty, apologized to the court, and was fined ten pounds sterling.

He had identified himself to the police as "Arthur Gielgud, 49, a clerk, of Cowley Street Westminster." Homosexuality was proscribed by the law in the UK, and Gielgud gave his less common birth name and a phony job description in the hopes that the press would not get wind of his pinch. The police made an attempt to prevent the press from learning of the incident, but an "Evening Standard" journalist was in the court that morning, and for the early afternoon edition, the paper came out with a headline "Sir John Gielgud fined: See your doctor the moment you leave here." Publicly humiliated, Gielgud worried about how the West End audience would react the next time he appeared on stage. Gielgud was advised not to seek work in the United States for at least four years as he likely would be being refused entry by American immigration authorities. In a letter to Lillian Gish at the time (not revealed until after his death), Gielgud told her that he perhaps should have committed suicide.

While Binkie Beaumont initially favored keeping Gielgud off the boards, Gielgud's brother Val, then head of BBC Radio, threatened the homosexual Beaumont with exposure if he kept his brother away from acting. A conference of his friends was called by Beaumont to determine how to best handle the crisis as Gielgud was scheduled to open in N. C. Hunter's play "A Day at the Sea" in the West End, which he was also directing. The "war council" included Laurence Olivier, his wife Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson (who was homophobic), and Glen Byam Shaw , who was running the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Only Olivier counseled him to postpone the play; the rest urged him to carry on. Gielgud heeded the advice of the majority, and went ahead with the production. Upon entering the stage the first night, the house was brought down by a standing ovation.

Outside the theater, the press whipped up a public backlash over the "homosexual menace." There were fears among the theater's gay community that there would be a police crackdown, leading choreographer Frederick Ashton to say of Gielgud, "He's ruined it for us all." So afraid was his lover Paul Anstee, that he burned all his letters. Gielgud's official biographer, Sheridan Morley , who withheld publication of his authorized biography until after Gielgud's death so as not to broach the subject of the arrest and Gielgud's sexuality during his lifetime, believes that the Gielgud arrest and brouhaha in the press likely were part of an organized campaign against homosexuality that had been festering in Britain since just before World War II. By the mid-1950s, the traditional English stage was stagnating, as susceptible to an insurrection as the theater had been in the '30s, when Gielgud's acting and direction had overthrown the old order.

Gielgud's 1955 go at Shakespeare's "King Lear" was a failure, and his style of acting went out of fashion after the kitchen-sink theatrical revolution heralded by the Royal Court's May 1956 staging of John Osborne 's "Look Back in Anger". Unlike Olivier, who reinvented himself with his characterization of Archie Rice in Osborne's The Entertainer (directed by kitchen-sink stalwart Tony Richardson), an era of rebellion against the cultural Establishment was at hand, which rendered the current lions of the stage passé. It was a new world in which Gielgud felt he had no place. Gielgud stuck to what he knew. He created a solo recital of Shakespearean excerpts called "The Ages of Man" for the 1957 Edinburgh Festival. The recital proved extremely popular, and he toured with the show for a decade, winning a special Tony Award in 1958 for his staging of the show on Broadway.

In the 1960s, he had a notable failure with his "Othello," and he was not a success in Peter Brook's 1968 staging of "Oedipus," two roles that Olivier had excelled in. Laurence Olivier, once his acolyte, was by this time considered the greatest actor in the English language, if not the world. He would become the first actor ennobled when he became Lord Olivier of Brighton in 1970. Gielgud, in contrast, had seemed, like their contemporary Ralph Richardson, to be old-fashioned and behind the times.

He was nominated for a Tony as Julian in Edward Albee's willfully obscure "Tiny Alice" in 1965, but Gielgud did not truly begin to transform himself into a contemporary actor until his appearances in Tony Richardson's 1967 film The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and in Alan Bennett's 1968 play "40 Years On...." He continued to revitalize his reputation in 1970, when he appeared in David Storey 's "Home," and in 1976, when he appeared in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land." Along with his reclaimed reputation came an appointment as a Companion of Honour in 1977. His career renaissance was ratified by the winning of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Arthur (1981) in 1981.

Although he had appeared in approximately 80 films, his supercilious character did not make him a popular movie actor, or a particularly distinguished one, aside from his brilliant turn as Cassius in the 1953 film adaptation of Julius Caesar (1953) and his gem of a cameo as Clarence in Olivier's Richard III (1955) (1956). His genius was reserved for the stage. (He had even turned down an offer in the mid-1930s from Alexander Korda to film his great Hamlet.) As 'The Times' eulogizes after his death, "To a unique degree his greatest performances coincided with the greatest plays." John Gielgud met his last love, Martin Hensler, at an exhibition at the Tate Gallery in the 1960s. They kept in touch, and Hensler moved in with Gielgud six years later. They remained a couple for over 30 years until Gielgud's death.

Despite the publicity surrounding his 1953 arrest and the legalization of homosexuality in the UK in 1967, John Gielgud did not talk publicly about his sexuality, so most of the public did not know that Gielgud was gay. Hensler, with Gielgud's approval, successful lobbied to have the 1988 program notes for Hugh Whitemore 's play "Best of Friends" state that he and Gielgud had been a happy couple for many years, but it was not publicized by the press. That play proved to be Gielgud's final appearance in the theater. Gielgud outlived his great contemporaries, Olivier and Richardson, the Three Knights of the Stage, by a decade.

Benedict Nightingale wrote of the three, in 'The Times' (May 23, 2000) that, "Laurence Olivier was the most fiery and physically volatile, Ralph Richardson the earthiest and the quirkiest, but Gielgud was the most vocally exquisite, intellectually elegant and spiritually fine." Sheridan Morley, his biographer, said: 'Since 1917, when he started in walk-on parts, he never had more than four weeks without work." In his career on stage, he had played every major Shakespearean role, including his favorite, Prospero in "The Tempest," which he later assayed for director Peter Greenaway in "Prospero's Books". Gielgud could be seen as having made the career of his greatest acolyte, Laurence Olivier, his only rival for the title of Greatest Shakespearean Actor of the 20th Century, a contest most felt that Gielgud won due to the beauty of his phrasing and more cerebral interpretation of Shakespeare.

(Olivier was generally considered the better actor in contemporary roles.) A great Richard II (as well as Hamlet), the generous Gielgud made his Bolingbroke possible through both his mentorship of the younger actor at the New Theatre during the 1935 season (where they alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio, with Gielgud getting the better reviews), and by reinventing Shakespeare as commercial theater in the 20th century. The modern, revitalized Shakespearean stage willingly embraced the more physical Olivier. Director Sir Peter Hall, in eulogizing the great man, said. "His work at the Vic in the 1930s, then with his own company, was trailblazing. He was not an old-style actor wanting inferior actors around him so he would look the star, which was what happened in a lot of companies. He wanted to be around people who were better than he was. He believed in that kind of humility.

His companies were very happy places, with one humorous qualification - that mercurial mind meant as a director he was always changing it." Thus, Gielgud's greatest legacy was his work as an actor-manager in the 1930s and 1940s, a time when the commercial West End theater was generally frivolous and its Shakespeare as caught in amber as a D'Oyly Carte production of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. Gielgud created classical companies that laid the foundations for the great renaissance of British theater that blossomed after the War, doing the groundwork at the New Theatre in 1935, at the Queen's Theatre in the 1937 and '38 seasons, and at the Haymarket in 1944. His companies featured in repertory Shakespeare, Sheridan, Congreve, and Chekhov, and his patronage of the design team Motley reinvented the look of British theatrical staging. Aside from Olivier, who went on to found the National Theatre, George Devine founded the English Stage Company in 1956, and Anthony Quayle and Glen Byam Shaw revitalized Stratford during the 1950s.

Without Gielgud, those paragons of the modern English theater, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, likely would not have come into existence. 'Percy' Harris, one of the Motley theatrical design team, said, "I think he single-handedly put English theater back on the map.

Larry [Olivier] gets all the credit and John doesn't, which I think is a sign of John's innate modesty." Gielgud wrote many books in his career, starting with a 1939 autobiography entitled "Early Stages." This was followed by "John Gielgud: An Actor's Biography in Pictures" in 1952, "Stage Directions" in 1963, "Distinguished Company" in 1972, the new autobiography "An Actor in His Time" in 1979 (revised 1989), "Backward Glances: Part One, Time for Reflection: Part Two, Distinguished Company" in 1989, "Teach Yourself" in 1990, and a primer for Shakespearean actors, "Shakespeare Hit or Miss?" in 1991 (re-published as "Acting Shakespeare" in 1992). In 1994, "Notes from the Gods: Playgoing in the Twenties," based on Gielgud's annotated theater programs from the London theatrical productions from 1919 to 1925, was published.

The lifetime awards began to pile up: a BAFTA fellowship award for his lifetime contribution to show business in 1992, the renaming of the Globe Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London's West End as the Gielgud Theatre in 1994, and his appointment to the Order of Merit in 1996. Gielgud and Hensler lived together in his later years at their country house, South Pavilion, at Wotton Underwood, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where he died "simply of old age" on 21st May 2000, at the age of 96. That night, the lights at the Gielgud Theatre and 12 others in Andrew Lloyd Weber's Really Useful Group were dimmed for three minutes in tribute to the passing of the man acclaimed as the greatest Shakespearean actor of the century. At a small memorial service in Buckinghamshire, Sir Alec Guinness , Sir John Mills , Dame Maggie Smith and Lord Richard Attenborough were among those whom paid their respects to the legendary actor. His body was later cremated at a ceremony witnessed by a small group of those closest to him.

A year after the death of Sir John Gielgud, an archive of letters chronicling his personal and professional life was bequeathed to the nation and housed at the British Library.

"Style," the great Gielgud once said, "is knowing what sort of play you're in." John Gielgud | Biography and Filmography | 1904 Made brief cameo as the Pope in the historical drama "Elizabeth" 1998 Voice character of Merlin in the animated "The Quest for Camelot" 1996 Narrated the documentary "The Leopard's Son" 1996 Received the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II 1996 Had featured roles in Jane Campion's "The Portrait of a Lady" and Scott Hicks' "Shine" 1996 Appeared briefly as Priam in Branagh's full-length filming of "Hamlet" 1994 Honored with the renaming of the Globe Theatre to the Gielgud Theatre 1994 Co-starred in the CBS miniseries "Scarlett" 1992 Starred in Kenneth Branagh's Oscar-nominated short "Swan Song" 1991 Played Prospero in "Prospero's Books", Peter Greenaway's experimental adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" 1991 Received an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a

 Miniseries or Special for "Summer's Lease" (PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre") 1989 Made first honorary fellow of RADA on November 17 1988 Last appearance on stage in "The Best of Friends"; filmed in 1992 1988 Assumed the role of Aaron Jastrow (originated by John Houseman) in the ABC miniseries "War and Remembrance" 1986 Had title role in the syndicated TV-movie "The Canterville Ghost" 1982 Played Edward Ryder, father of Jeremy Irons' Charles Ryder, in the British miniseries "Brideshead Revisited" (shown on PBS in the USA) 1981 Won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Arthur" 1979 Earned Grammy Award, Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording for "Ages of Man (Readings from Shakespeare)" 1978 American TV-movie debut, "Les Miserables" 1977 With Richardson, appeared in the stage production "No Man's Land" 1977 Host of short-lived TV series, "The Pallisers" 1974

 Co-starred in the ABC miniseries "QB VII" 1974 Was featured in the all-star cast of Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" 1973 Debut in a US TV miniseries, "Frankenstein: The True Story" 1972 Co-starred with Ralph Richardson in David Storey's "Home" on the London stage and on Broadway 1969 Had title role in feature version of "Julius Caesar" 1969 Returned to American TV after 15 year absence as the Ghost of Hamlet's father in "Hamlet" 1967 Played Henry IV in Orson Welles' "Chimes at Midnight", adapted from Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Parts I and II" 1965 Co-starred in the Broadway production of Edward Albee's "Tiny Alice" 1964 Directed modern dress version of "Hamlet" on Broadway starring Richard Burton; filmed for theatrical release; Burton's contract stipulated that the film would be desstroyed after its initial release, but at least two copies are extant 1963 John Gielgud - Microsoft Store John Gielgud From

 $3.99 Facts Of Lithuanian-Polish heritage on his father's side; his paternal great-grandmother was famed Lithuanian actress Anielia Aszpergerowa.

Descended from the distinguished Terry family of thespians, most notably Ellen Alice Terry (great aunt) and Kate Terry (grandmother), on his mother's side. His speaking voice was described by Alec Guinness as being "like a silver trumpet muffled in silk." Was knighted in 1953. Most famous for his appearances on the stage, especially in Shakespearean dramas; didn't become an international star until his role in 1981's Arthur. One of the few actors to win a Grammy, a Tony, an Oscar and an Emmy. Awards

Question: For which film in 1981 did British actor John Gielgud win the 'Oscar' for Best Supporting Actor?
Answer: 'ARTHUR'